"Pure Fiction": TikTok On Report Of Possible Sale Of US Operations To Elon Musk

TikTok has dismissed the report suggesting China might allow the potential sale of the social media company's US operations to billionaire Elon Musk and called it "pure fiction." The ByteDance-owned company's comments came in response to a Bloomberg report claiming Chinese officials are exploring options to sell US TikTok operations to Musk as the video-sharing platform faces an American law requiring imminent Chinese divestment. 

Last year, the Joe Biden administration passed a law that requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to either sell the wildly popular platform or shut it down. It goes into effect Sunday -- a day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

ByteDance has maintained that it will not sell TikTok's US operation. When approached about the validity of the latest report, a TikTok spokesperson told BBC News, "We can't be expected to comment on pure fiction."

What The Report Said

Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that one scenario being discussed in Beijing where Musk's social media company X would purchase TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance and combine it into the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The report estimated the value of TikTok's US operations at between $40 and $50 billion.

Although Musk-- a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump-- is currently ranked as the world's wealthiest person, Bloomberg said it was not clear how he could execute the transaction, or if he would need to sell other assets.

X did not immediately reply to the report.

Why The US Wants To Ban TikTok

The US government alleges TikTok allows China to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda, a claim strongly denied by China and ByteDance. 

TikTok has challenged the law brought by the Biden administration, taking an appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Friday.

Trump has opposed the ban - despite supporting one during his first term - partly on the grounds that it could help Facebook, which he has accused of aiding his 2020 election loss.

Last month, he urged the Supreme Court to delay its decision on the future of TikTok in the US until he takes office on January 20 to enable him to seek a "political resolution". According to a legal brief filed by his lawyers, Trump "opposes banning TikTok" and "seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office".

That came a week after Trump met TikTok's chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.